My fellow San Diegans are at a loss for words when it comes to the Padres. They are simply terrible and it is getting worse. Padres ownership is apparently taking notes from George W. Bush and Co. because they have decided to “stay the course” even though it is obvious to everyone except themselves, that they did not do nearly enough to stay competitive in their own division, let alone the Major Leagues for that matter.

Did we really think that Scott Hairston and Jim Edmonds were going to be our saviors? No, “we” did not! However, Padres ownership did… or they saw them as standard Padre throwbacks that would appease ignorant fans who were satisfied with small sample sizes and memories of a player who used to be an All-Star during the Steroid Era. These two players have no business carrying any type of consistent load in 2008 professional baseball. If a team cuts a guy or pays you to take him, I would recommend rethinking the type of role you want him to fill.

Moving on. The Padres are DEAD LAST in…

Runs Scored – 98

Batting Average – .225

On Base Percentage – .296

Slugging Percentage – .333

NL West – 9.5 Games Out

MLB – 12W – 20L (Tied for Last Place in the Majors)

DO NOT PANIC! Everything is fine and no changes will be made to the current organization. Alderson says there is no “Ticking Time Clock” on changes to team.

In response to Alderson’s comments, Padres fans are calling for his retirement and pointing out that he never won a championship with his model in Oakland and the A’s lost in the 1st round of the playoffs four years in a row from 2000 – 2003.

What a HUGE letdown for San Diego Padre fans this year! I guess we wouldn’t feel so robbed if this weren’t the most profitable team in baseball that made a promise to this city several years ago in exchange for a new ball park.

In case you forgot about the “Emperor’s New Clothes”, here are some reminders!

In exchange for getting San Diegans to shoulder most of the $458 million cost of the ballpark, Moores agreed to make the Padres competitive and ensure about $300 million of private investment in the neighborhood. Since then, Moores has emerged as a powerful player in the city’s 5-year-old downtown construction boom.

John Moores bought the Padres for $94M in 1995.

Forbes magazine valued the club at $367M in April, 2007.

The results of its extreme makeover are everywhere:

•In the last three years, about a dozen hi-rises, with more than 3,600 apartments or condos, have been completed.

•After a decade-old office glut, construction is under way on downtown’s first new office tower since 1991, a 23-story granite and glass high-rise.

•Moores is building a five-tower, 2-million-square foot complex of shops and housing, set to open by 2011, that will sit next to the city’s planned 10-story main library.

•San Diego’s redevelopment agency estimates there is $3 billion of construction underway or on the drawing board downtown, including $1.4 billion near the ballpark.

Since 1999, he has bought more than 21 acres of land near the ballpark. He developed or sold more than half the land. He’s holding onto 9 acres intended for shops and housing when the market ripens further.